Africanized Honey Bee Control in Wimberley, TX
Around Wimberley, a defensive honey bee colony usually reveals itself suddenly: bees pour out of a water meter box, a stack of old lumber, a junked tire or the ground under a trailer the moment a mower, trimmer or dog gets close. If that happens, cover your face and get inside a house or car right away. If you have spotted a colony and nobody has been stung yet, keep everyone and every animal well back, don't spray or plug anything, and phone or text Pest Trappers at (210) 281-1064, or schedule online.
Can anyone tell whether Wimberley bees are Africanized? #
Not by looking. Texas A&M AgriLife says only lab testing can separate Africanized from European honey bees, and the Texas Apiary Inspection Service calls the Africanized bee "just a slightly different honey bee" with the same venom. What differs is behavior: the U.S. Department of Agriculture's bee lab says these bees respond faster and in greater numbers, with less provocation (USDA-ARS).
Africanized bees were first detected in the U.S. in south Texas in fall 1990, and TAIS reports they had reached 163 of the state's 254 counties by August 2006, when formal testing stopped. Since then AgriLife assumes most feral colonies in Texas carry some African genes and may be aggressive. In practice, that means every wild colony in Wimberley deserves respect.
Junk piles, tall grass and the city code #
These bees are far less choosy about a home than European colonies. AgriLife lists meter boxes, old tires, cement blocks, signs, playground equipment, sheds, tree hollows and the space under houses among their nest sites. Many of those turn up in exactly the clutter Wimberley's code enforcement page targets: overgrown grass and weeds taller than 12 inches, and piles of rubbish, refuse and brush (City of Wimberley).
Clearing that kind of mess is a good idea, but do it carefully:
- Watch a pile for a few minutes in the warm part of the day before touching it.
- Look and listen for a hum or bees entering one spot.
- Walk tall grass before mowing. TAIS warns that colonies can move in during the day, and vibration from mowers, tractors, weed eaters and chainsaws is a common trigger.
Under the house, in the meter box #
The 78676 ZIP has a mix of housing beyond the city's single-family homes. Census survey data for 2020 to 2024 counts 4.9% of the ZIP's homes as mobile homes (Census ACS). Crawl spaces, skirting gaps and the underside of sheds all offer the small, low cavities TAIS says these bees accept, and AgriLife's beekeeper slides put their average cavity at about half the size European colonies choose. TAIS also notes they are drawn to water meters.
Bee-proofing steps from AgriLife:
- Cover vents and skirting gaps with 1/8-inch hardware cloth or screen.
- Caulk any crack 1/8 inch or wider.
- Tape over holes in water meter lids.
- Clear debris piles and unused containers from the yard.
If bees come after you #
Remember ACE: Alert others, Cover your head and face, Exit into a car or building. Then call 911 if anyone has many stings or an allergic reaction.
Wimberley has plenty of water nearby, from Cypress Creek to the Blanco River to backyard pools. Don't jump in; AgriLife's beekeeping module lists jumping into water among the moves to avoid. Also don't swat, hide in bushes, play dead or try to hose bees off another person. Scrape stingers out once you are safe inside. Pets and livestock tied or penned near a nest can't escape, so a colony near them needs attention right away.
Who can remove Africanized bees? #
AgriLife's advice for any colony or swarm is to contact a beekeeper or a pest control operator. In Texas, anyone paid to remove honey bees must be either a registered beekeeper, who may not use pesticides, or a licensed pest control professional. There is no separate bee removal license. TAIS keeps a county list of beekeepers who do removals; check the Hays County entries. A beekeeper may be able to take a colony out alive where that is practical.
Pest Trappers' technician locates the colony and its entrance, explains the options, and follows the label on any product used. Once the colony is handled, comb left inside a structure has to come out too. You get a price after the inspection. Pest Trappers LLC (TPCL #0887549) holds a Texas Department of Agriculture license and is family-owned. Read our Africanized honey bee guide, the honey bee page for Wimberley, or the Wimberley service page.